hi. i’m an RD. and a normal person, too.

hi! hello!

welcome to this little corner of mine on the interwebs.

i’m jenni, an anti-diet dietitian and health-at-every-size (HAES) advocate. helping others explore, cultivate, and nourish a healthy, normal relationship with food + body is the work that fills my cup up and is what i hope this space can be about.

i thought it would be helpful to kick things off with a blog post to share a bit more about me, my nutrition philosophy, and my hopes and aspirations for this new space and interacting with you all.

let’s start with the fun stuff. random tidbits about me to prove that i am just a normal, weird, typical human, not some super healthy, perfect person that i feel everyone assumes dietitians to be - we are not. sooo without further ado, here we go!

i love to write. especially in all lowercase type. and sometimes can be rambly (won’t blame ya if you skip to the end). i have always enjoyed writing; it feels like such a creative outlet for me and i’ve been talking about starting a blog for years. are blog still a thing? i feel like i should be on substack lol. but here i am. i actually first drafted this post in 2019. can you believe it? i can.

i currently do some freelance writing for a small, local newspaper which is pretty fun. shout out to my Como Park Bugle readers!

i am an early bird, but also sometimes a night owl so that doesn’t always work out well.

it is my goal everyday to spend as much time outside as possible (or comfortable in our midwest winters). nature gives me life.

i tend to avoid things i am afraid of…including failure.

i loved cottage cheese before it blew up as a diet culture trend. it is true that i sometimes name it as my favorite food which makes me feel like a grandma. other favorites include ice cream, triscuits, chicken tenders, super crunchy-crisp grapes, rolos, watermelon and nutty, seedy bread.

i still drive my first car. a 2010 honda civic, ruby. and she’s still going strong.

i am a finance and budget nerd. look forward to all the food/grocery budget talk coming soon. love me a good deal.

if you were to ask me of my special talent, i’d tell you i can peel an orange in one peel nearly every time.

that was fun. have a question for me? or share my special talent? tell me in the comments!

now to chat about me as a dietitian.

i’m currently in year eight of practicing as a registered dietitian, and while i knew this was the field i wanted to pursue heading straight into college, my thoughts on the profession and approach to care have definitely shifted since my first nutrition 101 course back in the day. i went into college thinking “i’m going to help others eat healthy”, and now looking back i realize i had nooo clue what “healthy” actually meant for me, for you, for us all, as individuals. through lived-experience, mentorship from peers and colleagues, and lots of my own reading and research, my approach to nutrition and wellness has shifted from a ‘one-size-fits-all’, weight-focused, ‘eat this, not that’ mentality with rules and black/white thinking to one rooted in the principles of food freedom, intuitive eating and Health at Every Size (HAES). you can read more about my own personal food journey here.

being an “anti-diet” (or sometimes also referred to as a “non-diet”) dietitian doesn’t mean that i am against weight-loss or think that pursuing weight loss is inherently bad. what it does mean is that i am against diet culture and weight stigma. i am against all of the messages we see and hear that tell us that we need to lose weight, cut out food groups, exercise, or eat in “xyz” way, and be at a certain weight or in a certain body size in order to be “healthy”. what I am against is using weight as a measure of success or the sole determinant of health.

i practice from an all-inclusive, HAES, intuition-focused frame-of-mind that encompasses evidenced-based nutrition to help individuals rediscover the joy of eating and how to nourish their bodies to support a vivid, radiant, and fulfilling life as well as their wellness goals.

it is my passion to support individuals in realizing you can literally have your cake and eat it too!! by that i mean, you can eat and enjoy cake often, while still supporting your health and wellness goals, your budget, your body, your values…you can have it all. but not if you live in a black and white mind. and we as humans, especially us americans, excel at that. black and white is our mojo, baby. and it takes a lot of intentionality to break away from that in all areas of life, but especially food, trust me, because i’ve been there.

in this space i hope to share personal examples of nutrition and food situations, scenarios and decisions. and also advice and education to help you all and spark some curiosity rather than judgement around your relationship with food.

and let’s be honest, there will probably be more random rambles, because i am a human, not just a dietitian!

in addition to this space, you can find me on instagram - but only instagram (at least for now) because i am an expert in nutrition, but not social media.

and, if you are interested in working together or are looking for support with your relationship with food, start here.